James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States and was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States.
James Monroe is well-remembered as our nation’s fifth chief executive, the president who issued the Monroe Doctrine. His eight years in office - 1817 to 1825 - are today recalled as “the era of good feelings.” Few Americans, however, know of his service in the army during our war for independence.
Although Andrew Jackson served as a courier in a militia unit at age thirteen, Monroe is regarded as the last U.S. President who was a Revolutionary War veteran, because he served as an officer of the Continental Army and took part in combat. At the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey - which many consider one of the war’s pivotal actions - James Monroe was in the thick of the fighting. Avoiding detection, the Americans approached the center of Trenton. When the Hessians sounded the alarm, they tried to get several of their artillery pieces in action to pour grapeshot into the Americans. After a volley of artillery fire, Lieutenant Monroe and his men rushed to seize the guns before they could fire again. He was severely wounded after he was struck in the left shoulder by a musket ball. The Battle of Trenton would be Monroe's only battle as he would spend the next three months recuperating from his wound. For the balance of his days Monroe looked back on the engagement as one of his proudest moments.